The next time your significant other complains that you spend too much time online you can tell them that internet access is a human right. So says the United Nations in a report released this past week citing how the Internet has become vital in ensuring freedom of expression.
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As LaRue highlighted, Internet access can be particularly valuable during times of political unrest, as evidenced in the Arab Spring uprisings. LaRue emphasized the power of the Internet as a communication medium and said in his report that, "given that the Internet has become an indispensable tool for realizing a range of human rights, combating inequality, and accelerating development and human progress, ensuring universal access to the Internet should be a priority for all states."
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Of course if internet access is a human right then the world is in trouble. There are still more people worldwide without internet access than with it. Moreover there are more people who give not a jot about the internet than have access to it.
Of course, the UN never asks, "at whose expense?". What they are really saying is, that my money by rights belongs to the UN, not me, and they would like to see everyone have access to the internet enough that they are willing to rob me to fund that happy notion.